Musically speaking, let's get a few things straight here. First of all, Punk Rock is not a Gen X creation - it was a late-ish Baby Boomer thing. Johny Rotten, The Ramones (proto-punk), the members of the Clash, Iggy Pop (proto punk) - yes, they're ALL Baby Boomers! Gen X were still little kids playing with toys when Punk Rock first made an impact. Sure, Gen X took on the punk "thing" in the 80's when they became teenagers, but by that time Punk rock was already pretty much dead in terms of being cutting edge or vital - the blueprint was already in place. Another misconception is the idea that somehow Nirvana represents the most pure essence of Gen X - why is this idea so pervasive in the pop media? Nirvana was never "Punk" anyway - they were pretty much traditional boomer rock with a bit of nihilism thrown in for good measure. The "Grunge" style aesthetic was not much different than the boomer hippie style (...but with Doc Martin boots). I was born the same year as Kurt Kobain, but I never fell for any of that "Grunge" or "Slacker" garbage - to me it was all just the same-old-same-old boomer "real band", "rawk" and "authenticity" crap that had been around for ages.
The real story of original Gen X youth culture/style has to be the creation of both Hip-Hop and electronic dance music. This is the stuff that really pissed off the baby boomers and musically differentiated Gen X from them. Hip-Hop, of course, is still around and has (to hideous effect) been appropriated by the "Millennials" (who STIIL have not, as yet, invented their own distinct form or style of popular music culture). Electronic dance music (in all its various styles and offshoots), has been mostly ignored by the "rock-centric" and "boomer-centric" American music press, but has had a HUGE impact worldwide. It's unfortunate that it's the regurgitated boomer styles like "grunge" and "indie" that are (mistakenly) most closely associated with Gen X, not the musical movements that were actually the most original and distinct.
Yes, while we all STILL have to endure the prevalent & pervasive boomer-centric pop and music culture (John Lennon used on Apple packaging, movies about Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin on EVERY radio station, "authenticity", "rawk" etc. - YUCK!), we also have a total lack of recognition of the real and vital pop musical culture that has flourished since the 80's, and is still breaking new ground - and yes, it's mostly a Gen X thing.
And "Millennials" - when are you going to come up with something cool and new of your own? It's about time, isn't it?
Musically speaking, let's get a few things straight here. First of all, Punk Rock is not a Gen X creation - it was a late-ish Baby Boomer thing. Johny Rotten, The Ramones (proto-punk), the members of the Clash, Iggy Pop (proto punk) - yes, they're ALL Baby Boomers! Gen X were still little kids playing with toys when Punk Rock first made an impact. Sure, Gen X took on the punk "thing" in the 80's when they became teenagers, but by that time Punk rock was already pretty much dead in terms of being cutting edge or vital - the blueprint was already in place. Another misconception is the idea that somehow Nirvana represents the most pure essence of Gen X - why is this idea so pervasive in the pop media? Nirvana was never "Punk" anyway - they were pretty much traditional boomer rock with a bit of nihilism thrown in for good measure. The "Grunge" style aesthetic was not much different than the boomer hippie style (...but with Doc Martin boots). I was born the same year as Kurt Kobain, but I never fell for any of that "Grunge" or "Slacker" garbage - to me it was all just the same-old-same-old boomer "real band", "rawk" and "authenticity" crap that had been around for ages.
The real story of original Gen X youth culture/style has to be the creation of both Hip-Hop and electronic dance music. This is the stuff that really pissed off the baby boomers and musically differentiated Gen X from them. Hip-Hop, of course, is still around and has (to hideous effect) been appropriated by the "Millennials" (who STIIL have not, as yet, invented their own distinct form or style of popular music culture). Electronic dance music (in all its various styles and offshoots), has been mostly ignored by the "rock-centric" and "boomer-centric" American music press, but has had a HUGE impact worldwide. It's unfortunate that it's the regurgitated boomer styles like "grunge" and "indie" that are (mistakenly) most closely associated with Gen X, not the musical movements that were actually the most original and distinct.
Yes, while we all STILL have to endure the prevalent & pervasive boomer-centric pop and music culture (John Lennon used on Apple packaging, movies about Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin on EVERY radio station, "authenticity", "rawk" etc. - YUCK!), we also have a total lack of recognition of the real and vital pop musical culture that has flourished since the 80's, and is still breaking new ground - and yes, it's mostly a Gen X thing.
And "Millennials" - when are you going to come up with something cool and new of your own? It's about time, isn't it?